Republican Patty Demos is asking for a recount after losing the race for Madison County probate judge by 120 votes out of nearly 149,000 cast Tuesday. (Huntsville Times file photo)

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- Republican Patty Demos is asking for a recount after losing Tuesday's Madison County probate judge election by just 120 votes out of nearly 149,000 cast.

Demos, a local attorney in her first bid for public office, led Democratic incumbent Tommy Ragland by 987 votes with just one precinct left to report. But the votes totals from Calvary Hill Friendship Center off University Drive gave Ragland an improbable come-from-behind victory after many political observers had already called the race in Demos' favor.

With only provisional ballots left to be counted, Ragland has 74,420 votes to Demos' 74,300. Another 128 people chose to write-in a different candidate for probate judge.

"After working as hard as we've worked for a year, I just want to make sure it's all counted correctly and is exactly as we think it is," Demos said Wednesday. "I'm not saying anybody did anything wrong. It's just for my peace of mind."

Under Alabama election law, candidates who lose by less than 1/2 of 1 percent of the total votes cast have an automatic right to a recount.

Before that happens, however, the county Board of Registrars must review the 333 provisional ballots cast Tuesday by people who insisted they were at the correct polling place but were not on the list of authorized voters.

Board of Registrars Chairman Lynda Hairston said her office has already begun checking whether those individuals were eligible to vote in Madison County. Legitimate provisional ballots will be added to the vote totals for Ragland and Demos when the county's canvassing board meets Nov. 13 to certify the election results.

Historically, a large percentage of provisional ballots end up being tossed out for various problems, Hairston said Wednesday.

Once the canvassing board certifies the election results, officials will have 72 hours to conduct the recount in the probate judge's race.

The probate office's chief clerk, Patty Hanson, said about 20 voting machines will be programmed to only read votes cast in the Ragland-Demos contest. Then the ballots -- all 148,848 of them -- will be fed through the machines by hand.

"We'll take it precinct by precinct," Hanson said Wednesday. "It might take a couple of days."

The ballots will remain in the custody of Sheriff Blake Dorning until the recount starts.Ragland is the county's chief election officer but cannot oversee a recount when he is one of the candidates.

Hanson said she cannot recall a recount that changed the final outcome of a local race. In April, Joey Parker requested a recount after losing a tight GOP runoff election for the District 3 Madison County Commission seat. The recount showed Eddie Sisk winning by 32 votes -- the same margin reported after the runoff.

Madison County Republican Party Chairman John Noel said he is disappointed Demos came up short Tuesday and supports her right to ask for a recount.

"She still may win if the recount turns up some irregular situations, which I'm not sure it will do," Noel said Wednesday. "Our voting machines have proven to be pretty accurate."

If Ragland's lead holds up, he will begin his third term as probate judge in early January. The Meridianville native has been a county courthouse fixture since being elected tax collector in 1984. In 2000, voters tapped Ragland to replace longtime Madison County Probate Judge Frank Riddick.